Blue Chips Outpace Broad Markets; Apple Suffers

FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here

The Dow posted triple-digit gains as components like IBM and Disney rallied. However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was yanked lower by sliding Apple shares.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 136 points, or 0.89%, to 15326, the S&P 500 gained 5.1 points, or 0.31%, to 1689 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 4 points, or 0.11%, to 3725.

Wall Street has been fixated with developments on the Syria front in recent days. A diplomatic solution that could stave off U.S. military involvement solution emerged early in the week, which sent stocks zipping higher.

President Barack Obama reaffirmed those plans late Tuesday in an address to the nation in which he asked Congress to hold off on a vote authorizing military action.

Traders had a bullish reaction, saying they expected Wall Street to continue its move higher.

"The big market takeaway is that the risk of an imminent attack on Syria continues to recede," Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG told FOX Business on the heels of President Obama's address. He added that "all else equal, that's a positive for markets."

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stole the spotlight on Wednesday, however. The company debuted a suite of new iPhones on Tuesday. However, analysts panned the offering, with many worrying about whether the Cupertino, Calif-based technology behemoth can continue innovating. Shares plummeted, pulling down the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the more evenly-balanced S&P 500.

Still, stocks like IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Disney (NYSE:DIS) helped lift the Dow sharply into the green. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) also touched an all-time high on the day.

The docket of data is light again on the day. Wholesale inventories rose 0.1% in July from June, slightly missing estimates of a 0.3% gain. The data prompted Barclays to pare down its third-quarter gross domestic product estimate to 1.6% from 1.7%.

Commodities markets took a breather after a hectic start to the week. U.S. crude oil futures rose 17 cents, or 0.16%, to $107.56 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.86% to $2.712 a gallon. Gold tilted lower by 20 cents, or 0.01%, to $1,364 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.32% to 2861, the English FTSE 100 fell 0.09% to 6578 and the German DAX climbed 0.52% to 8490.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 edged up 0.01% to 14425 and the Chinese Hang Seng dipped 0.17% to 22937.